


lean on my shoulder, we'll lean on yours

by TR33G1RL



Series: a house isn't a home without all of us [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Pre-Relationship, and they were ROOMMATES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:27:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28827411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TR33G1RL/pseuds/TR33G1RL
Summary: It's been a long week, and the roommates are all drunk and need a bit of love and comfort. Drake walks in from his late shift to find that all of his roommates are drunk and cuddled up on the couch playing video games. He feels like he's intruding, but they just want him to feel at home.
Relationships: Basil Hawkins/Eustass Kid, Basil Hawkins/Killer, Basil Hawkins/Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins/X Drake, Eustass Kid/Killer, Eustass Kid/X Drake, Killer/Eustass Kid/Basil Hawkins/Scratchmen Apoo/X Drake, Killer/Scratchmen Apoo, Scratchmen Apoo/Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo/Killer, Scratchmen Apoo/X Drake, X Drake/Killer
Series: a house isn't a home without all of us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113662
Comments: 14
Kudos: 28





	lean on my shoulder, we'll lean on yours

It's rare, Drake suddenly realizes through his groggy, tired haze when he gets home from his late shift at the local museum, to see all of his roommates getting along, let alone together in the living room. Drake pauses in the entryway, staring wide-eyed at all four of the other men he shares a house with as they lounge on their large, shared couch. The TV is playing some kind of upbeat music, and the way that three of them are holding controllers suggests that they're playing a miltiplayer video game. From the loudly shouted commentary of "Go left, turn left!" and "I'm approaching the finish line!," Drake can safely assume that they're playing another racing game again. 

As he steps further into their house, Drake can see that all four of his housemates are _incredibly_ invested their current round of whatever game he knows that Apoo put in the console. He can also see that, while there is a lgood amount of empty bottles and cups spread around the room, there's been no fights. In fact, even as he watches his roommates, he can tell that there's no animosity between any of them. Kidd is gently nudging Hawkins, who is in the lead, while grinning and complaining that Hawkins is too good to be playing for the third time in his life, and that the drinks are are just making Kidd play worse than usual. But, as Hawkins laughs, a beautiful sound that is louder than Drake has ever heard it been, Drake's keen eyes spot the way that all three of their other housemates smile at the sound. Hawkins' leg is pressed against Kidd's, with the redhead's ankle crossed over Hawkins' as he gently nudges the taller man's side every time he falls into one of Hawkins' traps. The blond's head is leaning on Apoo's shoulder, relaxed from what Drake can see is a less-than-full bottle of green liquid (absinthe, of course, Hawkins' drink of choice). Apoo has an arm slung lazily around Hawkins, his other hand holding a beer as Killer sits comfortably in the musician's lap. Killer is focused intensely on the televsion, his brows furrowed as he tries to catch up to Hawkins and Kidd while Apoo rests his head on Killer's shoulder, giving him advice and pointing out power ups.

In a moment of drunken victory, Killer finally pulls into the top five racers, Apoo cheers, joustling Hawkins who glares at him for a moment before laying his head on Kidd's shoulder. Apoo gapes at Hawkins before loudly exclaiming, "Hawkins, I swear I didn't mean to! C'moooon!" Dragging himself and, in turn, Killer, Closer to the interior designer, Apoo whines as he puts his chin on Hawkins' shoulder. "Haw- _kins!"_

Kidd leans forward so he can look around Hawkins to stick his tongue out at Apoo. "Sucks to suck! Now I get to cuddle with him!" Then, just to annoy Apoo, Kidd leans his head against Hawkins', rubbing his cheek against Hawkins' soft hair.

Apoo's pout turns into a glare as he sticks his tongue out at Kidd in return, a childish gesture that nearly makes Drake laugh. Their childish bickering is familiar, something that Drake finds comfortable and normal in his life, and even now, he finds it humorous to watch.

From between the two men, Hawkins tries to peer around their bodies to see his character's position on the track. But with both Apoo and Kidd surrounding him, it's a lost cause, and Hawkins soon realizes this. "I need you two to move. I cannot see around you, and you're in the way. You make better walls than windows," Hawkins says with a glower that is only amplified by his read irises.

With Kidd distracted by arguing with Apoo and Hawkins unable to see around the louder men to see the screen, Killer manages to steer out of the pack and move around both Kidd and Hawkins' characters. Then, with his own character in first, Killer rounds out the final lap and crosses the finish line several seconds ahead of the other two. "Finally," Killer announces with a smile that's much brighter and more open than Drake usually gets to see. "I won my first one!" Standing in a pose of victory, Killer raises his hands in the air before his motor skills - which have been severly impaired by all the alcohol he's drank - make him stumble back. The edge of the couch hits the back of Killer's knees, making them buckle and ending with the mechanic collapsing back onto the couch, laying over Apoo's lap with his head on Hawkins' legs. He looks far too happy for winning by what was a technicality, but to see him so openly happy makes Drake feel happy he's here to see this scene.

Immediately pulling away from his fight as soon as hears Killer's announcement, Apoo whoops, holding out his hand for a high five that Killer happily grants him. "Hell yeah, Killer! Look at you go! I knew you'd win!" His own smile is as vibrant as the sun, and it's a familiar sight that makes Drake's chest feel warm because he's finally home. 

Hawkins rolls his eyes but there's obvious fondness behind the gesture as he smiles down at Killer, who is making himself comfortable as he drunkenly lounges across Apoo and Hawkins' laps. "Congratulations on your win, Killer," Hawkins praises in his calm, even tone that always sets Drake's mind at ease. "Perhaps if a certain few people-" Hawkins shoots pointed glares at Apoo and Kidd, "had not gotten in the way, I would have been able to give you more of a challenge, but I am still glad to see you succeed."

Kidd scoffs as he gently nudges his elbow against the interior designer's side. "You should count yourself lucky that I was too distracted and Killer ended up winning, otherwise I would've ended up pulling ahead and beating you." His fingers move to card through Killer's choppily cut hair, soothingly running through it as Killer hums happily at the touch. "After all, we all know that I'm the best-" As Kidd's gaze moves to look back at Hawkins, his piercing eyes come across Drake and lock onto him. Drake nearly startles at the sudden attention from Kidd's keen eyes, but Kidd offers him a small nod as he says, "Oh, hey. You're back."

Ah, shit, now Drake feels awkward and guilty, like he's been intruding as he watches his housemates spend time together. A faint flush of shame creeps onto his cheeks as he says, "Ah, yeah. I just got back." He'd known that his roommates were going to be home, probably spending time with either their friends or each other in the living room, and he'd meant to sneak by them so as not to disturb them. Drake had even gone as far as to wear his older work boots, the ones that are worn and don't squeak with every step from the too-stiff fit from needing to be broken in. Looks like he wouldn't have any reason to do any sneaking now. He closes the door behind him and hangs his coat on one of the metal hooks in the entryway.

Three other sets of eyes move over to Drake, and Apoo's always-sunny smile only grows as he sets his beer on the coffee table so he can wave at Drake. "Drake!" he hollars, far too loud for how close they are, but everyone just smiles fondly at the familiarly loud voice. "Come hang out with us and play a few rounds!" 

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, pink growing into red on his cheeks, Drake hesitates to answer. "I was just planning to go to bed once I got home, work was a bit-"

His words are immediately cut off by a groan from Kidd. "Oh, don't give us that!" he scolds. "Come hang out and relax with us. You've been working a lot lately and we don't get to see you as much." Pulling a spare controller from off the couch next to him, Kidd holds it out to Drake. "We've been waiting for you so we could ask if you wanted to spend some time with us." Kidd's rough voice makes chills run Drake's spine, and he's tempted to take him up on his offer, but he's still not sure that he's not forcing himself into a situation when he shouldn't.

Killer sits up a bit, nodding with his bright eyes shinning as he pipes up with, "Hawkins even got some of your favorite hard cider when he went shopping."

Hawkins perks up at the sound of his name, leaning around Killer so he can pick up a six pack of what is indeed Drake's favorite alcoholic drink from on the ground beside him. "Killer and I also brought home some food from the new barbeque place down the street that you mentioned that you wanted to try," he adds with a nod towards the kitchen."

Drake feels his heart beat faster, warmth spreading through his cheeks at the kindness his housemates are showing him. "Oh, thank you. That's really nice of you," he says, feeling the beginnings of a smile at his mouth.

Apoo beams at him, laughing brightly as he picks up his beer again. "It's no problem! We're always happy to have you join us." Lowering his voice a bit, he keeps the next words between them as he says, "It seems like it's been a bad week at work, and we're all worried for you. Everything alright?"

The question brings a heavy sigh from Drake as he feels the headache that's been blooming for several hours once again begin to beat at his temples. "It's just been that kind of week. Nothing seems to go right and I'm just... Yeah." He trails off with a tired shake of his head.

Nodding in understanding, the musician's brows pull together in sympathetic concern. "Yeah, I get you. Do you want to talk about it? You know I'm always happy to lend you an ear," he offers, and Drake feels a surge of appreciation towards the taller man. Apoo may seem like a happy-go-lucky troublemaker, but he's always been someone who's there for his friends, and it's moments like these that Drake is happy to have someone so considerate living with him.

"Honestly, I appreciate that, but I just don't want to talk about it right now. I just want to forget about it for a while." Drake replies with a tight smile.

Apoo returns the tense smile with a more genuine one of his own. "I understand. You wanna hang out with us, or would you rather head to bed?" he asks quietly.

Drake can't deny that the fact he's giving him an opportunity to leave is nice, but right now, he knows he could use the support of his four living companions now more than ever. "I want to hang out with you," he assures, speaking just loud enough that everyone else knows his plans. "Just let me go get changed real quick and I'll be back down."

Apoo and Kidd cheer as Hawkins smiles and Killer gives him a soft sound of happy satisfaction at the announcement. Kidd clears his throat, asking, "You want us to heat you up some of the barbeque so it's ready when you get back?"

"I'd like that, if you don't mind doing it," Drake answers, feeling a bit flustered at how kind everyone is being. Not that it's bad, it's just strange being the center of attention like this. Having all of them look out for him like this... It's pretty nice.

"Not at all," Kidd replies, nudging at Killer, whose head is partially on his lap. "Move over a bit, I'm gonna go grab him some food."

As Killer sits up so Kidd can move into the kitchen so he can heat up some of the food for Drake, the blond gently nudges a hand against Kidd's forearm. "Be sure to get him some advil, too. Those shoes always end up hurting his feet, and I'm sure he's already sore enough," Killer instructs softly as he adjusts himself to lay more comfortably across Apoo and Hawkins' lap. Hawkins begins running his fingers through Killer's hair again, earning a pleased hum from the other man as he begins talking about some of his favorite car models in the game.

"Don't worry, I was already planning on it," Kidd responds, offering Drake a smile before moving into the kitchen to begin heating up a generous amount of food for the tired zookeeper.

Drake smiles in return, feeling warm enough that he doesn't even remember how cold the winter winds had been while he'd been at work. "Thank you," he says to Kidd, offering him a tired but truly happy smile in return. "I'm going to go change, but I'll be back in a few minutes." He begins to move towards the stairs so he can go to his room and change into sweatpants and rejoin the relaxed, drunken group in the living room.

Looking up from where Killer is talking to him about how he absolutely needs to remake some of the cars and motorcycles from the game, Hawkins offers Drake a small nod, the kindness of the action understandable even through Hawkins' sharp features. "We will wait for you to return before we start the next round. We'll save Yoshi so you can play as him." The rest of their housemates nod in agreement as they continue on with what they're doing.

Drake feels his heart beat his ribcage like thunder in an earth-shaking storm as he walks up the stairs. His housemates are going to let him play _Yoshi,_ and they're _willingly_ offering that to him? God, he's lucky to have them in his life, and he definitely needs to spend more time with them.


End file.
